Assemble Insert (original) (raw)

Despite its flaws, “Assemble Insert” was more fun than expected, and it left me with a smile on my face.

The story centers on a junior high schooler named Maron who, due to her unbelievable strength, won an idol audition to fight a group of goofy villains called Demon Seed. The audition was set up by a special police force formed to find a solution to the Demon Seed issue; due to the villains’ powerful mobile suits, the police hadn’t been able to fight against them on their own.

Maron is somewhat of a reluctant hero. She spends most of her time training as an idol singer... rather than as a fighter, and when it comes time for her to make her fighting debut (Demon Seed politely announced when and where their next heist would be), she gets nervous and almost runs away. However, the police group, which consists of 4 caricatured guys led by Chief Hattori, who is a caricature himself, encourages Maron and fully supports her, so she fights the bad guys — to comically disastrous results…

The story this 2-episode OVA presents is silly, but it works for the most part. It ends on an upbeat and semi-conclusive note, with a series of epilogue-type scenes interspersed among the end credits. Some of the story elements are a little too outlandish and don't get enough explanation, however, probably since the show is so short. As for the characters, they’re all distinctive and likable enough, but naturally they don’t get much development. In particular, Maron’s character comes off as rather flat, which is disappointing.

Since this is a parody anime, it’s filled with references to other anime and pop culture. Notably, there are cameos by characters from “Patlabor” and “Kyuukyoku Choujin R,” two of the original creator’s other manga titles. Although I’m not sure if this is a direct parody, Hattori’s character looks like the coach from “Gunbuster,” and even has the same voice actor. There are also a lot of puns (the character Sonoba Kagiri’s name is itself a pun, for example), instances where the fourth wall is broken, and a number of in-jokes. Some of the jokes, due to being outdated, in-jokes or jokes directed towards a Japanese audience, might be difficult for modern non-Japanese viewers to understand.

Technical aspect-wise, this anime is pretty good overall. The opening sequence is fantastic! It blew me away with the great camera shots, and it was timed well with the theme song (which is sung by Maron’s voice actress and is also very good). The rest of the animation is above average; the colors are washed out a bit and some of the drawing looks rushed, but the animation itself is fluid, and the direction is great. The character designs are unique; I haven’t seen designs like this in any other anime, and they’re very pleasing to the eye and memorable.

There’s a live action scene featured twice — a mock commercial of a fake energy drink — which is a running gag throughout both episodes. The commercial stars the two main voice actresses, and it’s pretty funny. You can tell they had a good time making this.

The voice acting cast in this show is solid, and they do a great job at delivering their lines. All of the music, including the background music, is good, and it feels like it was specifically made for this anime.

Regarding objectionable content, there is a slight bit of nudity near the beginning; the cover of an adult video that one of the policemen is renting is shown on screen for a few seconds. Also, some of the humor itself is sexist and outdated. One of the policemen (the same one who rented the adult video) has the rather disturbing tendency to keep notes on every aspect of Maron’s daily activities, for example. Also, the chief has planned out Maron’s life as an idol, down to her getting married and having a child, which is supposed to be funny but feels awkward. And there’s a weird joke with a pun on an accordionist's name that seems to be referring to diapers or menstrual pads.

Overall, while it’s not perfect and somewhat outdated, “Assemble Insert” is a delightfully funny show to watch. Recommended.